Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 166?

Mossad Chief David Barnea is set to meet CIA Director William Burns in Qatar on Friday, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated that an agreement could be coalescing between Hamas and Israel for the release of hostages.

“The gaps are narrowing. And we’re continuing to push for an agreement in Doha,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Cairo during a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

He cautioned, however, that there is “still difficult work to get there. But I continue to believe it’s possible.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamal will also participate in the Friday talks, which Blinken hoped would lead to a pause in the war.
He said the execution of a deal that could release some 40 of the remaining 134 hostages is at issue.

“The Israeli team that is present [in Doha] has the authority to reach an agreement,” Blinken told Al Arabiya English in a video interview earlier in the day.

A London house fire in which four people were wounded is being investigated as a potential antisemitic hate crime, the Metropolitan Police said on Thursday.

The 60-year-old man arrested on suspicion of arson near the scene of the midday Hackney borough blaze reportedly made "a number of threatening comments, some of which were allegedly antisemitic," according to Tower Hamlets and Hackney police commander Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway.

“We take instances of antisemitism extremely seriously and for this reason we’re investigating the incident as a potential hate crime," said Conway in a police statement. "Whilst the investigation will continue to explore the motivation for this offence, we believe at this stage that this was centered on a localized housing-related issue. We have no indication, at this very early stage, that the motivation was connected with any specific local or global events."

Three of the people wounded in the fire were residents, said police, and the fourth casualty was a passerby. None of them suffered life threatening injuries, but according to the London Fire Brigade they were taken to the hospital by London Ambulance Service crews. 

Police said that the suspect had also been taken to the hospital for minor injuries suffered in the inferno. Three other residents had managed to exit the three-story house before the arrival of rescue services.

Eight Fire engines and around 60 firefighters were needed to bring the blaze under control, according to the fire brigade. The ground and first floors of the house were destroyed.

“Crews worked hard to bring the fire under control and stop the fire from spreading to neighboring properties," Station Commander Alan Bendell said in a Wednesday statement.

Superintendent Conway assures that London's Jews will have a safe holiday 

Conway assured London Jews that the police would endeavor to protect them ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim.

An overwhelming majority of US Jews say Israel’s reasons for launching a war against Hamas are justified, and a substantial majority approve of how Israel is conducting the war.

The Pew Research Center study published Thursday is billed as the rare survey of sentiment about the war to include enough Jewish and Muslim respondents to garner an accurate reflection of their views. 

It shows that Jewish views on the conflict are in many ways starkly different from those held by the rest of Americans. Far fewer US respondents overall see Israel’s rationale for the war, and its conduct in Gaza, as justifiable. 

Asked whether Israel’s reasons for fighting Hamas are valid, 89% of Jewish respondents said yes, compared to 58% of Americans overall. Jews are the group most likely to see the reasons for fighting as valid, followed by white evangelical Protestants at 74%.

And asked whether Israel’s conduct during the war is acceptable, 62% of Jewish respondents said yes, compared to 38% of Americans overall.

Gideon Sa’ar, Minister-without-portfolio and chairman of the newly founded New Hope - The United Right party, unveiled on Thursday his plan for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

In a post shared on X, he wrote, “This should have happened a long time ago. But at this moment when the whole world stands against Israel's action in Rafah – the time has come when Israel should present the idea of surrender and exile (of the remainder of Hamas' military wing) as an orderly plan to end the war in Gaza.” 

זה היה צריך לקרות כבר מזמן. אבל ברגע הזה בו כל העולם מתייצב נגד פעולת ישראל ברפיח - הגיעה העת בה ישראל צריכה להציג את רעיון הכניעה וההגליה (של שארית הזרוע הצבאית של חמאס) כרעיון מסדר לסיום המלחמה בעזה. המחבלים יוגלו לקטאר, סוריה, טורקיה או איראן. מהלך דומה לגירוש אש״ף ומחבליו…

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) March 21, 2024

"The terrorists will be exiled to Qatar, Syria, Turkey or Iran. A move similar to the expulsion of the PLO and its terrorists from Beirut in September 1982,” he added.

Sa’ar emphasized that “this move will of course involve the return of all the hostages.”

Members of the House Committee on Middle East and Africa pressed Defense Department officials on Israel's war conduct during a two-hour long hearing Thursday morning on Capitol Hill, with party lines evident in questioning. 

Michigan Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin questioned Central Command Army Gen. Michael Kurilla about his communication with his Israeli counterparts on the impending invasion of Rafah and humanitarian efforts. 

Kurilla testified that he has asked Israel for its Rafah civilian evacuation plans which have not yet been provided to him. 

"What I do know is what they've told me, is they are not going to take action until they have the ability to protect the civilians and move them out of the area. I don't think they have finalized the plan for that. Until they do I am not aware of their current plans to be able to do the civilian harm mitigation for Rafah," Kurilla said. 

IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, March 20, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Slotkin highlighted Kurilla's extensive military resume and noted previous US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan where humanitarian efforts were provided amid ongoing efforts to hunt down al Qadea and other forces. 

Kurilla stops short of answering Slotkin

Kurilla said he thinks Israel is conscious of the civilian harm, but stopped short of answering Slotkin's question if Israel is doing everything in their power to maintain as little civilian harm as possible. 

Slotkin asked Kurilla what his understanding was of the military endgame in Gaza. 

"I think they are still working on that," Kurilla said. 

Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, then questioned Dr. Celeste Wallander, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. 

Gallagher asked Wallander if she believes the IDF holds themselves to a high moral and ethical standard like the US, to which she said yes. 

Wallander also told Gallagher she believes it to be true that Israel does not target civilians and that Israel takes steps to avoid civilian casualties. Wallander said she is not aware of any evidence that Israel is violating international law. 

"Hamas does not care about human life, including the civilians in Gaza Correct. Worse, Hamas exploits others' concern for civilian life by placing their capabilities and their fighters protected by human shields," Wallander said. 

Wallander said the administration fully supports Israel's goal of destroying Hamas' ability to conduct another operation like on October 7. 

An IDF military campaign to destroy Hamas in Rafah must take plan, even if it harms Israel’s relations with the United States and isolates it on the international stage, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said ahead of his trip next week to Washington.

“We’re gonna go in and finish this job, and anybody who doesn’t understand that doesn’t understand that the nerve of the Jews, that existential nerve, was touched” by Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, which sparked the Gaza war, Dermer said.

He spoke on an episode of the Call Me Back podcast with Dan Senor amid a stiff diplomatic battle with the Biden administration about Rafah, which is last Hamas stronghold in Gaza.

The Rafah operation is “going to happen, and it will happen, even if Israel is forced to fight alone, even if the entire world turns on Israel, including the United States,” he stated.

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. March 19, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Israel is determined to destroy Hamas, even if it “leads to a potential breach with the United States,” Dermer said.

In Cairo US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration does not support a major Rafah operation. In Washington US official are expected to lay out for Dermer and Israeli National Security Adviser Tzahi Hanegbi alternative plans, which they claim could eliminate Hamas through targeted operations.

“We will listen to what they have to say,” Dermer said, but a major military operation in Rafah is the only way to destroy Hamas.

He noted that the US and Israel’s other allies, want it to eliminate Hamas  but to do so in three weeks and without any civilian casualties. 

The importance of destroying Hamas

Taking out Hamas is not only necessary to safeguard Israel  is also critical to plans for the day after the war and for normalization with Saudi Arabia, Dermer stated.

“It’s impossible to get to the day-after in Gaza without destroying Hamas,” Dermer said. “No other Palestinians will step forward to be involved in the leadership of the enclave until they know that the terror group is destroyed,” he said.

“You can have a lot of conversations about the day-after plan, but to do it, before there is a day-after Hamas, it won’t work,” Dermer said.

Separately in the conversation he took issue with Canada’s decision this week to halt arms sales to Israel, something which had already quietly not occurred since January.

“It's going to be a badge of shame for Canada, and it's going to last for a really long time because in years to come and decades to come,” Dermer said.

Years from now people will ask where was Canada why did it abandon Israel in its “darkest hour,” Dermer said.

European Union leaders called on Thursday for an "immediate" humanitarian pause in Gaza that would lead to a ceasefire.

"Strong and unified statement of EU leaders on the Middle East at #EUCO tonight!" Charles Michel, the president of the council, posted on social media platform X.

"The EU calls for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire."

A worrying 83% of NGOs in Israel claimed that the IDF's war on Hamas negatively impacted their ability to provide services in a recent survey conducted to analyze the widespread mobilization efforts following the events of October 7.

The survey was carried out by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Institute for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy in cooperation with Civil Leadership, the umbrella organization of non-profit organizations in Israel.

Led by Prof. Michal Almog-Bar, head of the Institute, the poll found that 73% of the NGOs surveyed expanded their activities at the height of the war due to rising demand, 86% established new services, and 84% reported a rise in demand for their services.

Some 75% claimed a sharp increase in the number of clients served.

Israeli NGOs cope with multiple complications due to war

The neglect manifested itself in various ways, including NGOs having to cope with staff absences due to reserve duty and supporting staff who were mentally or physically affected by the war.

Only 35% of NGOs sought government assistance during the war. This number is low, likely due to the fact that they did not have prior contracts with governmental agencies.

Lack of resources remained a significant issue, with only 10% of NGOs reporting an increase in government support and 21% reporting a decrease in government funding amid the war.

The United States on Friday morning will bring a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal to the United Nations Security Council for a vote, a spokesperson said.

“The United States has been working in earnest with Council members over the last several weeks on a Resolution that will unequivocally support ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal, which would get hostages released and help enable a surge in humanitarian aid," Nate Evans, spokesperson for the US mission to the United Nations, said on Thursday.

Protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's house in Caesarea, lit flares, and blocked roads on Thursday evening, Israel Police said.

Police arrived to end the protests and restore public order.

One person was arrested for violating a police order not to block roads. The protestor was transferred to a police station for questioning.

"The Israel Police will continue to allow the freedom of protest within the limits of the law and will act against any violent disorder, damage to police officers, civilians and infrastructure, and riots committed in violation of the law."